"light carriage, small boat," 1790, perhaps, on notion of bouncing, from Middle English ghyg "spinning top" (in whyrlegyg, mid-15c.), also "giddy girl" (early 13c., also giglet), from Old Norse geiga "turn sideways," or Danish gig "spinning top."
"job," first used by jazz musicians, attested from 1915 but said to have been in use c.1905; of uncertain origin. As a verb, by 1939. Related: Gigged; gigging.
: their glam-rock band, Nancy Boy, which has already gigged on both coasts/ I forget whether we're gigging in Basin Street or Buenos Aires
[origin unknown; musicians' senses are extensions of earlier meanings, ''spree, dance, party,'' found by 1777]
[1689+; origin unknown; perhaps fr Irish or Anglo-Irish, as attested by the name sheila-nagig given to carved figures of women with grotesquely enlarged vulvae found in English churches; fr Irish sile na gcioch, ''Julia of the breasts'']
An old car
[1950+; fr gig, ''one-horse carriage'']
any of several members of a class of light, open, two-wheeled, one-horse carriages, popular in France, England, and America. The gig, which first appeared in Paris in the 17th century, is the ancestor of the cabriolet. Popular variations were the Tilbury gig and the Stanhope gig, both designed by Fitzroy Stanhope. The Stanhope gig was an elegant carriage with low wheels that therefore required shafts with an upward reverse curve where attached to the horse's harness. The Tilbury resembled the Stanhope except in its manner of suspension